Earth’s altered ATMOSPHERE, the view from above

“Satellite observations provide a much more consistent view of emissions globally than we would get from individual approaches.”
– Dr Richard Engelen

Something big happened in 2020. According to the Global Carbon Project, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions declined by 2.4bn tonnes – the biggest drop ever recorded. It is a faint silver lining to a year of COVID-19 lockdowns, and a distraction from the longer-term trend – in 2019 CO₂ emissions hit a record high (36.8bn tonnes). Now, as restrictions ease thanks to vaccination programmes, CO₂ emissions are returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Nevertheless, 2021 could be a big year for cutting CO. After taking office in January, President Joe Biden reinstated America’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change. In April, Prime Minister Boris Johnson set new, more aggressive emissions reduction targets for the UK. In May, Germany brought its deadline to become carbon neutral forward to 2045. And further pledges to cut CO may come in November’s UN Climate Change Conference of the